REGINA, SK (February 22, 2023): Wednesday marked the halfway point of the 2023 Saskatchewan Winter Games, and big smiles were found all around the sport venues and Athletes’ Village as first half participants reflected on their Games experience and those competing in the second half arrived in Regina. The Queen City continued to show its welcoming volunteer spirit with community members assisting with every aspect of the multi-sport event, taking place in Regina until Saturday, February 25th. At the conclusion of the Games’ first half, 201 medals were earned in total, with all nine District Teams represented in the medal standings and Team Saskatoon sitting at the top of the leaderboard. Tonight’s keynote speech from Sydney Daniels, followed by a panel discussion on Truth and Reconciliation in Sport with Daniels and her father, NHL veteran Scott Daniels, Indigenous sport leaders Jackson Serna, and Amy Shipley highlighted the importance of youth sport and emphasized the need to actively work towards reconciliation by creating safe spaces for marginalized voices and promoting diversity and inclusion. The event is recorded and can be viewed here. SPORT SPOTLIGHT: Alpine Ski: Minus forty was no match for the Alpine Saskatchewan athletes shredding down the brand-new Ski Cross course today at Mission Ridge Winter Park on the last day of Alpine competition at the 2023 Saskatchewan Winter Games Regina. Did you know: The ski and snowboard cross run was constructed at the park through the Saskatchewan Games Legacy Grant, a matching grant distributed across sport organizations in each Saskatchewan Games host community in order to foster sport development and leave behind lasting legacies. Artistic Swimming: Olympian Kenzie Priddell visited Artistic Swimming again on Wednesday to present medals at the Team Event, a treat for the athletes. The final score was neck and neck, but Team South East prevailed with 58.5147 points against Saskatoon’s 58.0523. Team Rivers West took bronze. Badminton: Team Regina, Team Saskatoon, and Team Lakeland earned gold, silver, and bronze respectively in Wednesday’s U19 Team Mix event. Bowling - Special Olympics: A fantastic and fun-filled tournament culminated in Team Regina, Team South West (Moose Jaw), and Team Lakeland claiming the podium at the Glencairn Bolodrome. Curling: Cara Kesslering and Caden Snow of Team Prairie Central captured the gold medal in the inaugural Mixed Doubles Curling event. Prairie Central also came out on top in the Female Curling competition, with the Male Curling gold medal being claimed by Team Lakeland. Gymnastics: Parkland Valley swept the podium in the Balance Beam and Bars, with medals earned by Adora Erhardt, Madison Signarowski, and Kenzie Taylor in both events. Team North’s Naomi Johns took home gold in both the Floor and Vault events. Johns and her teammate Mackenzie Boyer, both of La Ronge, are the first athletes from Team North to ever compete in Gymnastics at the Saskatchewan Winter Games. Speed Skating: The male and female 1500m races had their finals today. Team Saskatoon’s Lena Veeman and Maya Makowsky earned gold and bronze respectively, while Team South West’s Elizabeth Rea earned silver. In the male race, Saskatoon’s Taras Beveridge Warick, South West’s Marcus Capili, and Saskatoon’s Ryan Hwang went 1-3. Saskatoon also took home two more golds in the male and female relays. Table Tennis: Twin sisters Lisa and Linda Chen of Team Regina took home gold and bronze, respectively, in the Cadet Female Singles event, while Saskatoon’s Thulir Hector earned silver. Regina’s Michael Gan, Saskatoon’s Wynn Nguyen, and Regina’s Regina’s Allen Hu went 1-3 in the Cadet Male Singles. 2019 Canada Winter Games Team Sask alum Ruby Sha earned gold in the Junior Female Singles; her Regina teammate Habibah Adebusola Gbadebo earned silver while Saskatoon’s Noraay Ibrahim took bronze. In the Junior Male event, Saskatoon’s Evan Lu and Albert Wu went 1-2 with South East’s Carter Allen Morrison earning bronze. Weightlifting: Team North’s Leo Emond earned gold in men’s 89 KG weightlifting. Regina’s Preston Lucas and Ben Ko earned bronze. In the 89+ KG final, Saskatoon’s Hutton Nickolayou and Parkland Valley’s Hayden Peter Russell and Berkeley Kempton stood on the podium on the final day of Weightlifting competition. COMING UP NEXT: The second half of sport competition will include Cross Country and Para Nordic Skiing, Figure Skating, Futsal, Judo, Target Shooting, and Wrestling, taking place from Thursday until Saturday. Check the sport schedule here. The growing sport of Futsal is making its debut in the Saskatchewan Games program on Thursday, February 23rd at 9:00 AM (Saskatoon vs Parkland Valley on Field 1) . The Futsal tournament will be hosted at the brand-new Avana Centre at the REAL District. Tomorrow is the last day of the 2023 Saskatchewan Winter Games Culture Festival, sponsored by CGI. The event will take place at the University of Regina, Education Auditorium, from 6:30 to 9:00 PM. The event is free and welcome to the public. QUOTES OF THE DAY: "I think it can be helpful to think about Reconciliation in terms of it being an approach rather than thinking of it strictly in terms of it being a program or an initiative that we do ‘for’ people. Reconciliation is about relationships and to fix or repair something that has been broken. When you focus on repairing relationships and understanding the truth of the experiences people have had, you can move forward as equal partners.” -- Amy Shipley, Sask Sport Representative -- 2023 Saskatchewan Winter Games Culture Festival Truth and Reconciliation in Sport Panel “[Sport has] taught me to never give up and just keep pushing forward. Try your best, win or lose -- you’re always a winner in your heart.” -- Joshua Jackson, Team Lakeland Badminton Athlete “One of the absolute highlights of this first part of the Games was Special Olympics Bowling. There was just incredible energy and enthusiasm and competitiveness, yet happiness when their teammates and competitors made great shots. It was truly a great embodiment of the Saskatchewan Games experience.” -- Stephanie Cuddington, Team Prairie Central Chef de Mission “I like to volunteer because it is a very nice social event as well for volunteers -- you get to meet a lot of people, experience things you wouldn’t normally do. I think in order to have a thriving community, we need volunteers and it’s our responsibility to volunteer.” -- JoAnne Neely, Volunteer CONTENT: Photos and video highlights of the Games are available for download at this link. Photographers’ names are listed on each subfolder for photographer credit. Thank you to our volunteer photographers for helping us to capture all the moments and memories! LIVESTREAM: The 2023 Saskatchewan Winter Games is proud to partner with HomeTeam Live to make every sport at the Games available live and on demand at app.hometeamlive.com. The stream is free and easy to access, with instructions here. WEBSITE: saskgames.ca The 2023 Saskatchewan Winter Games on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram The Saskatchewan Games Council on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram ### About the Saskatchewan Games: First established in 1972, the purpose of the Saskatchewan Games is to provide an opportunity for the province’s developing athletes, coaches and officials to participate in an exciting multi-sport event in preparation for a higher level of competition. Countless Saskatchewan Games alumni have advanced to competition at the national level and beyond, with Olympians such as Sandra Schmirler, Colleen Sostorics, Emily Clarke, and Lucas Makowsky counting the Saskatchewan Winter Games as a key step in their journey to the highest levels of sport. The Saskatchewan Games also leave behind valuable legacies that benefit each host community for years to come. To learn more, visit http://www.saskgames.ca. MEDIA CONTACT: Ashley Dennison, Communications Lead Saskatchewan Games Council E: adennison@saskgames.ca
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